Further action likely, but Malaysiakini will continue
Although it appears that the police will take further action against malaysiakini , its editor-in-chief Steven Gan said today the country's first online daily will continue operating as usual.
He said this after having his statement recorded at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters in relation to a police report lodged against the website by Umno Youth.
"From the line of questioning, I have a strong belief that they will likely take action against me in the end I am prepared for any consequences," he said when met after the three-hour questioning session which started at 11.30am.
Gan said the online daily now faces difficulties in work after the police confiscated 15 central processing units and four servers during a raid yesterday.
"It is a bit hard for our journalists to work but we are receiving support and donations that will keep us going.
"There was a gentleman, USJ.com founder and webmaster Jeff Ooi, who donated his daughter's computer to us soon after the raid last night," he said.
Gan added that malaysiakini expected more computers to be donated and with this he hoped operations will return to normal over the next few days.
'Seditious' letter
Last Friday, Umno Youth lodged a police report against the website for publishing a letter on Jan 9 titled 'Similarities between 'new Americans' and bumiputera' which it claimed was seditious and could cause racial tension.
The movement alleged the letter contained false accusations and questioned Malay special rights
However, Gan had taken a stand that the letter did not carry any remarks that could incite racial hatred but was based on a factual comparative study.
He also refused to disclose the identity of the writer, citing professional ethics and this led to the seizure.
Gan told reporters this afternoon that the police were interested to gather more details on the process of selecting letters from readers as well as the staff responsible for the publication of these materials, received mostly by e-mails.
He added that malaysiakini sub-editors will also have to give their statements over the next two days.
When asked, he said the public could only speculate as to why there was swift action against the three-year-old website based on the latest police report, the third since its inception.
"You should ask the police, I have no idea. But as the election is coming, there is every reason why the government wants to stop an independent voice," he said.
About 20-odd people gathered at the police headquarters to express their support for Gan and malaysiakini .
Among those present were Keadilan supreme council member Khalid Jaafar, Kota Melaka member of Parliament Kerk Kim Hock and his predecessor Lim Guan Eng.
Perceived persecution
Kerk, who is also DAP secretary-general, said it was "shocking that a simple police report seemed to have turned into what the public perceive now as persecution".
He said when he lodged a police report against a seditious article published on the Umno website last year, no action was ever taken.
"The Umno headquarters removed the article and the police never did anything to the website as what they are doing to malaysiakini now.
"Somehow the police are very efficient in certain cases," he stressed.
Kerk urged Inspector-General of Police Norian Mai to explain if the raid on malaysiakini was an attempt to stifle press freedom.
Meanwhile, Lim said supporters of press freedom in the country must show their backing for the website because the government was forcing it to submit to the official line of news.
"It is not malaysiakini but press freedom that is under attack," he said.
Malaysiakini, co-founded by Gan and company Chief Executive Officer Premesh Chandran, was launched on the eve of the November 1999 general election and had won numerous international awards in recognition for its truthful reporting and struggle for press freedom.
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